This invention relates to swaging machines; more particularly, this invention relates to automatic swaging machines which sequentially swage each tooth of a saw such as a band saw.
Presently there exist many types of swage machines designed to swage the saw teeth and the like. The simplest type of swage machine is a manual device which comprises a swage assembly having an anvil and an eccentric die positioned within a housing. A pair of clamp screws are positioned on opposing sides of the housing so as to grasp the saw to be swaged. A clamp lever is operatively connected to the clamp screws to enable the operator to rotate the screws thereby clamping the saw. Another lever, commonly referred to as a die lever, is operatively connected to the die to rotate the eccentric die during the swaging operation. During use, the swage assembly is positioned such that the tooth to be swaged engages between the anvil and the die. The clamp lever is operated to rigidly hold the tooth into the swaging position, and then the die lever is operated to rotate the eccentric die thereby swaging the tooth. The swage assembly is then shifted to the next tooth to be swaged and the process is repeated. Obviously, a great deal of manual labor is required in order to swage each tooth of the saw. One such type of manual swage assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 983,427.
Numerous automatic swage machines have been developed in an attempt to reduce operator fatigue in the swaging of the saw. One such automatic swage machine which has been widely accepted in the trade is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,039 issued to Vollmer. The Vollmer swage machine comprises a relatively complex machine which includes numerous gears and drive shafts which operate to correctly position the saw with respect to the swage assembly and to index the saw after each swaging operation. Unfortunately, the complexity of the Vollmer swage machine renders it too costly for a large number of swaging shops.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and which provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the swage machine art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swage machine which automatically swages each tooth of a saw.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swaging machine which is easily adjustable to swage the teeth of a variety of saws having different tooth spacings or different gauges.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swage machine which is relatively simple in construction so as to render it economical for most swage shops.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swage machine including an indexing mechanism which sequentially indexes the saw along a table to permit the swaging of the teeth of the saw.
Another object of this invention is to provide a swage machine including a swaging mechanism which automatically swages each tooth of the saw as the indexing mechanism moves the tooth to be swaged in engagement therewith.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features in applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and the full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment, in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.